In a potential NFC playoff preview, the Bucs lost to the Packers 14-12. Here were the most disappointing Bucs from the game.

Offensive Penalties

The Bucs offense committed four penalties on the day, but they were big ones. Right guard Shaq Mason committed a holding penalty on the Bucs’ second drive of the game. It negated a six-yard run by running back Leonard Fournette that would have set up second-and-4. Instead, they were pushed back to first-and-20. Tampa Bay would not pick up a first down on the drive.

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

On the ensuing Bucs drive, two false starts would doom any progress the offense was hoping to make. Both wide receiver Scotty Miller and left tackle Brandon Walton were flagged for false starts on another drive that failed to pick up a single first down.

Later in the second half, Walton committed a holding penalty that negated a fantastic scramble by quarterback Tom Brady after ducking a sack and taking off for an 18-yard gain. On the ensuing play, Brady had to spike the ball as a screen pass to Rachaad White was well defended. The drive stalled.

And most crucially, center Robert Hainsey failed to get a snap off in time on the two-point conversion that would have tied the game and sent it into overtime. A two-yard play is much easier to convert than a seven-yard play. Oh, what could have been…

When you play good teams, the margin of error is razor thin. The Bucs got cut by that razor over and over with self-inflicted wounds.

Bucs Receiving “Weapons”

After so much hullabaloo in the off-season about the depth of the Bucs weapons, it is time to put that narrative to bed for good. The Bucs are top-heavy at playmaker, and the top was injured on Sunday. With Mike Evans out due to suspension and Chris Godwin and Julio Jones sidelined with injuries, the Bucs turned to the likes of Miller, Breshad Perriman, and Russell Gage to carry the load. Unfortunately, the burden proved too large for them to bear. Perriman and Gage both lost fumbles on drives that saw Tampa Bay starting to move the ball.

Perriman was also caught running the wrong route on at least one occasion, almost disrupting a Gage catch in the process. Add in a muffed exchange between Perriman and Miller that netted a 12-yard loss right after a beautiful 25 yard catch and run by wide receiver Jaelon Darden stalled yet another drive in the fourth quarter. On the ensuing play Brady was sacked for an eight-yard loss that set up third-and-30. Needless to say, the Bucs offense did not convert.

Miller, for his part, had trouble getting open throughout the game. This proved pivotal in him only hauling in one of his five targets on the game for a less-than-pedestrian five yards.

Not getting open, running wrong routes, fumble after fumble after fumble. As one NFL analyst told me privately “It was an all-time atrocious performance. Everything bad you could imagine they’ve done.”

Offensive Play-Calling AND Execution

Bucs QB Tom Brady and OC Byron Leftwich – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Expanding upon the last point, outside of the first and last drive of each half, the Bucs offense was unable to develop any kind of rhythm. In addition to the penalties and the fumbles, each drive found some cog in the offense breaking down. The result? A performance that will not soon be forgot, and for all the wrong reasons.

Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich made several questionable calls, including a continued insistence to run the ball on first and second-and-long despite almost zero success on those plays to speak of. On first down or second-and-five or more, Leftwich called run plays eight times on the day. On those runs the Bucs offense averaged 3.4 yards per carry. By any measure of success, this wasn’t it.

To top it all off, the offensive line let Brady down on multiple third downs. This included a sack on third-and-12, and multiple plays where Brady just did not have enough time to find a play. The offensive line committed three penalties and allowed two sacks. The receivers fumbled twice.